a fine look at reality, as well as into the past & future

Rating: 9/10 (31 January 2006)

I saw this movie despite a respected critic panning it. What I found was a wonderful but somewhat frightening world presented, remarkably like our own real-world existence. Where liars & cheats have often taken up the highest positions of power & prestige, yet seem to often have their power & prestige by deception of those around them. They mislead & deprive the broader populace with remarkable success thanks to their treachery & the trust of others loyal or indifferent, that they exploit. They are aided in their quest by the apathy of the broader world's peoples, individually indifferent to the plight or suffering of others, as long as they are not personally suffering.
Yet as this thoughtful movie production presents, the world at large is, time & again unexpectedly the victim of its own misplaced trust. Mostly with no time or opportunity to complain or correct or communicate their suffering, without tragedy or death that may be nothing to do with the victims themselves. As such, it is a reminder of holocaust type worlds in history, of wars fought in the name of unjust causes & propaganda nothing to do with the reality of situations they claim to speak of with such words as "freedom".
The Island, as presented in the movie is indeed a Utopian concept, but one that is merely an illusion to defraud, both the clones in their netherworld & those who think they have bought their freedom to extended life in their material world of the rich & privileged. As such, it typified too the modern world of science in mindless experiments, at suffering to victims that they are apathetic of. Yet too, the governments & churches of this world, Christian or otherwise, each often have their own agendas far from the good of the broader populace they claim to represent or fight for.
As such, the police can be an enemy of a multinational-type corporation who claim to represent its clients, yet this company considers itself free to spy on or exterminate even clients, paying lip service to truth & justice along the way, merely giving its victims a false but temporary sense of security. They have tools to make themselves look like police with interchangeable labels & highly coordinated operations benefiting no one but themselves. They have uniforms & powers to control or operate to kill by such hierarchy of authority, while they exploit & abuse the trust of those that obey them. By contrast, they betray & kill without conscience. Their view of the ultimate evil in a human victim is to "question". So finally, by a worldly voice who dares to help the protagonists, the simple but sad reality of his message is "Trust no one!" While at times, this movie is a little far-fetched in some of its action sequences, it has so much going for it in its modern day 'David & Goliath' style battle for justice & truth & integrity against all odds! Look past its minor flaws & dare to look into a bleak world that is sadly very close to reality of today, then go back to the world around you with your eyes open, to its dangers on the one hand, to love & trust & friendship & justice on the other.